Folding box



April 13, 1937. l HYNDMAN 2,077,174

FOLDING BOX Filed Sept. 11, 1935 2 Sheets-Shet 1 April 13, 1937.

M. HYNDMAN FOLDING BOX Filed Sept. 11, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I a 1 1 1 0 I 1 1 I I I I 1 I I I I I I I I 1 l I Patented Apr. 13, 1937 FOLDING Box Meade Hyndman, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to' Rosenthal Paper Company, St. Louis, Mo., a

corporation of Missouri Application September 11, 1935, Serial No. 40,017

v2 Claims. (Cl. 229-23) My invention relates to folding boxes. Heretofore folding boxes of the type that are shipped in knock-down condition and set up by the userhave been used extensively; but, generally, such.

7, boxes have been unsuitable for' hats and like articles because of their rectangular form or shallow depth or flimsiness of construction. Thev principal object of the present-invention is to devise a folding'box suitable for hats and like 1:) articles. The invention consists in the parts and in the combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the box; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the box -on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

, Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the lid;

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the rim piece of the lidprior to assembly, with a portion broken; away to show the adhesive that unites the two ends thereof;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the top piece of the lid prior to assembly;

box embodying my -Fig. 7 is a detail view of the side piece of the box with a portion thereof broken away to show the adhesive which adjoins the two ends thereof;

box prior to assembly;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1 showing the-top and bottom corners of the-box on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 10 is a similar vertical section on the line Ill-48 of Fi '1. The box comprises four pieces, namely; a main .10 side piece I and a bottom piece 2 that are interlocked to constitute the body member of the box, and a top piece 3 and a rim piece 4 that are interlocked to constitute the lid member of the box.

4:, The main side piece I consists of a long wide strip of pasteboard or other suitable material that has a multiplicity ofequidistant creases or scores extending transversely thereof and dividing the side piece into a multiplicity of panels. Along .70 its lower longitudinal edges each alternate panel has a tab 5 projecting therefrom, which tab is of the full' width of the panel and' is separated therefrom by a crease or score 6, such tab being preferably of rectangular form. The two'en'ds .35 of the strip constituting the side piece are brought -wise against the side piece.

into overlapping relation and secured together by any suitable means, such as an ordinary ad hesive' I. In 'order that the side piece may be folded flat, the number of its panels should be even. I have found that a twelve-panel side makes a box that is very well adapted to accommodate an ordinary lot of men's hats nested together as usual.

The bottom piece 2 of the box is a polygonal blank of cardboard or other suitable material with sides of the same number and size as those of. the main side piece I. Each alternate side of this bottom piece 2 has a tab 8 extending therefrom and marked oif by a crease or score 9 extending the full width of the side. Each of these tabs is wider thanthe side from which it extends and is creased or scored crosswise from the ends of the crease 9 that separates the tab from the body of the bottom piece. The small ears 28 or portions of the tabs -8 beyond the transverse creases or scores I0 thereof have their inner margins cut away so as to form gaps or notches ll at-such transverse creases of. substantially equal width with-thethickness of the material of the main side piece. The transverse creases on the tabs 8 converge outwardly somewhat toward each other to facilitate assembly.

The. main side piece I and the bottom piece 2 are assembled by interlocking the tabs thereof. Whenassembled, the tabs 5 of the main side piece 4 are bent inwardly and rest flatwise against Fig. 8 is a detail view of the bottom piece of the the body of the bottom piece 2 and the tabs 8 of'the bottom piece are bent up and rest flatof theside piece, tabs 5 lie in the notches or gaps it between the body of the bottom piece 2 and the ears .20 at theends of the main bottom tabs 8. When the width of the side piece tabs 5 is equal to the distancebetween the bottoms of the notches in which they rest. the ends'of The end portions the side piece tabs bear against said bottoms.

creasing the bottom piece tabs 8 along converging lines to form bendable cars 28 facilitates the operation of engaging said bottom piece tabs 8 with the side piece tabs 5 which side piece .tabs 5 in the finished structure, also converge radially. The assembly resultingfrom the interlocking of the tabs is quite strong and firm, notwithstanding its great depth and large diameter. on account of the multiplicity of paneIs each individual panel subtends a relatively small arc and is short enough circumferentially to act efliciently 3 a strut and have considerable strength in,. re-

sisting cross-bending stress. The tabs act individually as stiffening flanges and they cooperate to resist relative movement of the main side and bottom pieces in any direction.

The construction of the lid is generally similar to that of the body of the box. Its top piece 3 is a regular polygon with the same number of sides as the bottom piece 2 and just enough larger for the rim member thereof to fit well over the main side piece I. Each alternate side of the top piece of the lid has a tab l2 that is separated therefrom by a crease or score l3. The tabs are wider than the sides and the inner margin of the projecting portion is cut away to a depth equal to the thickness of the material of the rim piece so as to form notches l4 at the corners of the lid to receive tabs 15 that are provided on the rim piece 4. As the tabs on the top piece 3 are not subjected to any great stress in use, their end portions l6 may be made narrow enough to yield readily to pressure in the process of assembly. For this reason, I prefer to make the tabs [2 of the top piece 3 with a continuously curved outer edge, which makes it practicable'to dispense with the creasing of said tabs I2.

The rim piece 4 of the lid is substantially the same as the main side piece I except that it is much narrower vertically and with its panels somewhat wider than the corresponding panels of the main side piece. That is, it is a long band creased transversely to form .a multiplicity of panels of an even number and with its ends overlapped and glued or otherwise secured together, as shown at H, and with a ternate panels provided with projecting tabs.

The top piece 3 of the lid and the rim piece 4 thereof are assembled after the manner of assembling the parts of the body of the box; that is, the tabs on the rim piece 4 are engaged in the gaps or notches 14 provided therefor between the body portion of the top piece 3 and the yieldable ends l6 of the tabs I2 on such top piece. The natural resiliency oi the material causes said yieldable ends I6 to spring back into interlocking relation .with the rim tabs l5. When the lid is applied to the body of the box, each contributes to the'flrmness and stability of the other.

As stated above, I have found a twelve-sided box to be very well suited for accommodating men's hats and like articles, as this large number of sides produces a box that approximates roundness, its sides are short enough circumferentially to be effective in resisting distortion and the large number of interlocking tabs contribute greatly to the strength and stability of the structure. However, a smaller or larger number of sides may be used without departing from the invention.

The particular box illustrated in the drawings and hereinbefore described has an even number it is obvious that it may be made of greater length than width, provided that the perimeter thereof is equal to the perimeter of the main side member and its sides are of substantially even width with the panels that correspond therewith. Likewise, it is obvious that the sides of the bottom piece may not all be of equal width provided that the side piece is creased or scored so that each side panel will be of substantially equal width with the side of the bottom piece corresponding thereto. Likewise, while I have described the side piece and the bottom piece as'separate, it is obvious that they may be made as parts of a single piece or blank or in two pieces 'permanently united. Thus one of the tabs 8 of the bottom piece would be eliminated and the bottom piece secured along the edge corresponding to the crease-line of said omitted tab to the bottom edge of the main side piece between the tabs 5 thereon, the adjacent corners of said tabs being beveled off to facilitate assembly.

What I claim is:

1. A box body consisting of a bottom piece in the form of a twelve-sided polygon and tabs on alternate sides and a side piece in the form of a continuous band with creases dividing it into panels equal in number and width to the sides of said bottom piece, said side piece having tabs at the bottom of alternate panels, said bottom tabs being wider than the panels and having the portions that extend past their panel narrow enough to admit the side tabs betwen them and the body portion of the bottom piece.

2. A box member consisting of an end piece in the form of a many-sided polygon with an even number of sides and tabs spaced apart along the sides thereof and a side piece in the form of a continuous band with creases dividing it into panels equal'in number and width to the sides of said end piece and having tabs alternating with said first-mentioned tabs, the end piece tabs being wider than the side piece tabs and having notches in their inner margins at the edge of the polygon,

and the side tabs fitting in said notches, said end tabs decreasing in width to the ends thereof so as to flex readily without being creased.

MEADE HYNDMAN. 

